Project description
Waste-supported bacteria to create landfill liners
Modern landfills are equipped with barriers to prevent the leachate from contaminating groundwater, but they are not completely effective. The contamination of groundwater resources by toxic chemicals from waste remains a challenging environmental problem. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are supporting the BioBar project, which will use the biofilm-forming bacteria present in leachates to create a new type of liner. The project will develop completely new bio-barriers for landfill design by using the rejected fraction of fine aggregates combined with plastic waste and biofilm-forming bacteria. It will test performance, durability and implementation.
Objective
Waste management and final disposal cause severe environmental impacts. Even in modern landfills, installed engineered barriers worsen their hydraulic performance after 8 years of landfill operation, which can lead to leachate leakage and environmental pollution in the medium to long term. In addition, the use of clay as landfill barriers relies on a non-renewable resource and entails high economic and environmental costs when such a resource is not locally available. Therefore, it is necessary to develop barriers made of renewable and/or recycled sources, which not only promote leachate containment but also enhance its in-situ treatment and attenuation. This project will take advantage of the bacteria naturally occurring in leachate that grow and form biofilms by consuming the organic compounds. We will apply the biofilm-forming bacteria in a novel liner made of the rejected fraction of fine aggregates and plastic waste. Adopting such a bio-barrier between the liner and the drainage system could reduce both the leachate flow and the contaminants concentrations that actually reach the liner. This is because the natural clogging of the bio-barrier would reduce its permeability, and the physicochemical and biochemical processes would enhance their attenuation. In this regard, the proposed project will 1) develop bio-barriers for landfill design, combining the rejected fraction of fine aggregates, plastic waste and biofilm-forming bacteria, 2) verify the long-term performance of these new designs for representative conditions, and 3) develop guidance for real-world implementation to reduce barrier permeability and increase contaminant attenuation. The bio-barrier (BioBar) approach has not been quantitatively tested for landfill barrier design and merges innovative geochemical concepts and biofilm engineering. The effectiveness of the developed bio-barrier could enable the reduction of clay liner thickness, in a renewable and sustainable design perspective.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geochemistry
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology bioremediation
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- engineering and technology environmental engineering waste management waste treatment processes
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
28049 MADRID
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.